Rio Grande Valley FC
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| Full name | Rio Grande Valley Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Toros |
| Founded | July 15, 2015 |
| Stadium | H-E-B Park |
| Stadium capacity |
9,735 |
| Owner | Rio Grande Valley Vipers |
| Head Coach | Junior Gonzalez |
| League | USL |
| 2017 | 11th, Western Conference Playoffs: DNQ |
| Website | Club website |
The Rio Grande Valley FC is an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the United Soccer League in the 2016 season. Lone Star has the same ownership team as the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League with Alonzo Cantu as majority owner.
The team serves as a hybrid affiliate of the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. Chris Canetti, Houston Dynamo president, called the relationship "an important and necessary step." The hybrid affiliation, a first for the USL, means that the Dynamo will be responsible for the tactical part of the club - selecting players and coaching staff. The ownership group, Lone Star, will be responsible for operations and day-to-day management of the club.
In September 2014, Dynamo officials met with USL officials about creating a USL team and announced their intention to have a USL team in place for the 2016 season.
In March 2015, Bert Garcia announced that the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-league had been awarded a franchise pending concrete plans for a stadium and a name and confirmed a report on MLSSoccer.com that the Houston Dynamo would likely be the MLS affiliate for the USL team in the Rio Grande Valley.
In December 2015, the Houston Dynamo signed Dynamo Academy product Juan "Charly" Flores as the first player of the Toros.
The club has a 9,400-seat soccer-specific stadium in Edinburg, Texas for the team. It was set to open after the Toros played three games at the soccer complex at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to start the 2016 USL Season.
The stadium was never completed for play in 2016. Construction of the H-E-B Park was completed during the first quarter of 2017 and the Toros played C.F. Monterrey from Mexico on March 22, 2017 to inaugurate their new stadium. The Toros lost their exhibition match against Rayados 0-3. The Toros won their first home game at H-E-B Park on April 12, 2017 against the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. Their current home record attendance is 7,820 which was set on April 29, 2017 against the Oklahoma City Energy.
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